Inflatable canopy for outdoor areas

ABSTRACT

A CANOPY IS CONSTRUCTED OF INFLATABLE SIDE WALLS WHICH REST ON THE FIELD, THE TUBULAR SIDE WALL ARE CONNECTED TO TRANSVERSE TUBULAR BLISTERS WHICH ARE INFLATED THROUGH TUBULAR SIDE WALL. THE CANOPY IS CARRIED ALONG A PAIR IF TRACKS AND IS CONTAINER IN TRENCH WHICH IS PARALLEL TO THE TRACK, ROLLERS ARE PROVIDED IN THE TRENCH WHICH SQUEEZE THE CANOPY SO THAT IT CAN BE STORED BELOW THE ROLLERS, THR ROLLERS ARE ALSO PROVIDING A SEAL AT THAT END OF THE CANOPY FOR THE AIR IN THE TUBULAR SIDE WALLS WHICH ARE POSITIONED IN THE TRACK.

Nov. 16,` `19'11 H, A, DAM I.3,619,957

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DNC/776g lUnited States Patent Oihce 3,619,957 Patented Nov. 16, 1971 3,619,957 INFLATABLE CANOPY FOR OUTDOOR AREAS Herbert Alexander Adam, 9800 Lougheed Highway, Burnaby 3, British Columbia, Canada Continuation of application Ser. No. 706,047, Feb. 16,

1968. This application Dec. 11, 1969, Ser. No. 888,211

Int. Cl. E04b 1/ 34 U.S. Cl. 52-2 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A canopy is constructed of inflatable tubular side walls which rest on the field; the tubular side walls are connected to Vtransverse tubular blisters which are inflated through the tubular side walls. The canopy is carried along a pair if tracks and is container in a trench which is parallel to the track; rollers are provided in the trench which squeeze the canopy so that it can be stored below the rollers, the rollers also providing a seal at that end of the canopy for the air in the tubular side walls which are positioned in the track.

This application is a continuation of application No. 706,047 led Feb. 16, 1968 and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (l) Field of the invention This invention relates to devices for covering outdoor areas, in particular playing fields.

(2) Description of the prior art In the playing of outdoor games it is highly important to maintain the playing lfield in a dry condition and in the event of rain it is common practice to bring out a tarpaulin in which is then spread manually over the lield. Frequently, however, the playing field is well soaked by the time this operation has been effected.

Various mechanical arrangements have been devised to effect a rapid covering of the playing lield with a tarpaulin but if the held has been well soaked it will take a long time to dry because the tarpaulin prevents evaporation of the moisture.

This invention has for its primary purpose the provision of a canopy which is not only easy to handle but is also inflatable so as to provide an air space between the underside of the canopy and the playing .'lield over which it is positioned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention consists in providing a canopy which is carried over the playing eld by means of an opposed pair of tracks attached to the edges of the canopy, the arrangement being such that the canopy has` opposed inflatable tubular walls which rest on the playing field, the tubular walls being connected to transverse blister formations which are thereby also inflated. A trench is provided at one end of at playing eld to store the canopy and a pair of squeeze rollers are located in the trench which bear on the canopy .and provide a seal so that a canopy below the rollers does not contain any air and is thereby easily stored. The rollers also provide a seal at the trench end for the inated tubular walls which extend over the playing field. It is further arranged that heated `air may be derived from the tubular blisters on the underside of the inated canopy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now `be described in relation to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. l is a plan view of a sports iield showing the location of a trench for housing the canopy and falso the track on which the canopy is extended over the' playing field;

FIG. 2 is a perspective drawing of the fully extended canopy attached to the roller track and looking from the trench end on the playing field;

FIG. 3 is a perspective drawing of the mechanism in the trench for accommodating the canopy;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross sectional views of the trench in the open and closed position respectively;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the chain drive for lifting the canopy out of the trench;

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the chain drive and connected rollers;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional View through the roller track;

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of the erected canopy from the end of the field opposed to the trench;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic view showing the air circulation in the canopy;

FIG. yl1 is an elevational view of the erected canopy from the trench end of the playing field.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) Referring to the drawings and more particularly t0 FIG. l there is illustrated a sports eld, generally denoted by the numeral 10. At one end is a trench 12 which is provided to house the apparatus shown more particularly in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. The trench 12 is provided with concrete walls 14 as shown in FIG. 4, and is closed by a top wall comprising a fixed portion 16 and an articulated portion 18. The top wall of the trench 12 is covered with sod and the junction of the portions 16 and 18 is sealed by a molded sealing strip 20 which is attached to the xed portion 16. Secured to the underside of the ixed portion 16 of the top of the trench 12 and adjacent to the rubber strip 20 are opposed arms 22 which carries a spring loaded roller 24 supported on a spindle 26.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 the articulated portion 18 is supported by a series of pivoted arms 28 which are hinged to the wall 14 of the trench 12. Each arm 28 is hingeably connected intermediate of its ends to an individual piston and cylinder structure 30 which extends downwards into the trench 12, being supported by the base thereof. A master electric oil pump 32 provides even lift through the series of hydraulic piston cylinder structures 30 for the articulated portion 18. Each arm 28 has normally disposed spaced apart upstanding bars 34 which provide the requisite rigidity for the surface of the articulated portion 18.

The free end of each arm 28 carries a freely pivotable angularly shaped yoke 36, the free end of which, in turn, supports a roller 38 carried on a spindle 40'. The downward movement of the arm 28 is terminated by contact between the lower side of the yoke 3'6 and the top of an intermediate Wall 42 which is provided in the trench 12. The top of the wall 42 is tapered downwards in a direcP tion towards the piston cylinder structure 30 so that the yoke 36 is pivoted outwards and upwards, as illustrated in FIG. 5, on contact with the top of the intermediate wall 42, thereby bringing the roller 38 into pressurized Contact with the roller 24. However, on downward movement of the articulated portion 18 the roller 38 clears the roller 24 because the yoke 36 is freely pivotable and depends downwards.

A canopy 44 :which is to be extended over the sports field is stored in the trench 12 on a series of upwardly extending curved rails 46, the canopy 44 being gripped between the roller 38 and the spring loaded roller 24 when the articulated portion 18 in the trench 12 is lowered.

The trench 12 also carries the mechanism to propel the canopy 44 after the downward movement of the articulated portion 18 has been completed and this propulsion mechanism is illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.

The opposed side edges of the canopy 44 are secured to the individual arms 48 of an opposed series of roller members 50. The arms 48 of the opposed series of roller members 50 are joined together by an individual steel cable 52. The roller members 50 on each side are located in an individual track 54 which extends outwards of the trench 12, the opposed tracks 54 running in parallel relationship along the respective opposed sides of the field 10. The roller members 50 are propelled at each side by the lugs 56 of a first chain drive 58 after which each is picked up by the lugs 60 of a second chain drive 62. An electric motor 64 propels both chain drives 58 and 62.

It will be noticed that the second chain drive 62 extends only to the immedaite underside of the trench 12 after which the opposed series of roller members 50 enter into the individual extension of the traversing tracks 54 disposed along the sides of the field 10. The subsequent movement of the canopy 44 along each track 54 is achieved by utilizing the unique inflatable construction of the canopy 44 together with the tension developed in the steel cables S2.

The inflatable construction of the canopy 44 is illustrated more particularly in FIGS. 2 and 8, from which it will be observed that the edges of the canopy 44 which run along the side of the playing field 10 parallel to the tracks 54 are each provided with an inflatable tube side wall 66. A fan truck, not shown, provides pressurization of the tube wall 66 by means of flexible air tubes 68 connected thereto. The operation is such that as the canopy 44 is released from the action of the second chain drive 62 the fan truck will be operated and the tube wall 66 will be inflated, but only as far as the point where the canopy 44 is held between the squeeze rollers 24 and 38. As a result the tube wall 66 will be extended and become rigid so that the force being applied by the respective second chain drive 62 is transmitted to the leading edge of the canopy 44 with resulting forward motion which, of course, is complemented by the action of successive roller members 50 as they are propelled upwards by the chain drives 58 and 62.

It will be observed from FIG. 8 that the roller members 50 located under the tracks 54 are connected to the adjacent edge of the canopy 44 by adjustable spring loaded turnbuckles 70. This gives the canopy 44 a degree of flexibility which could not be obtained by a rigid structure.

It is a particular feature of the invention that the canopy 44 is provided with spaced apart transversely disposed tubes 72, see FIG. 2, which are connected to the tube walls 66, see FIG. 10, and are inflatable therefrom with the result that the canopy 44 presents the appearance of a series of spaced apart blisters separated by channels 74. The resulting structure thereby facilitates the removal of rain water, a problem with a tarpaulin spread over the ground which flows down the channels 74 to run into a ditch 76, see FIG. 8, suitably disposed adjacent the tubular walls 66.

As illustrated in FIG. 9 the forward edge of the canopy 44 is anchored to the ground by a series of anchor points 78 set into the ground and connected to their points by tension cables 79.

It is a further feature of the invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, that the surface of the blisters 72 disposed under the canopy 44 is provided with vents 80 which will distribute air into the space between the canopy 44 and the playing field 10. As a result of the distribution of air through the vents 80 the rapid drying of the playing field 10 will be effected. Furthermore, this distribution of air together with the provision of spring tensioned turnbuckles 70 gives the canopy 44 a degree of flexibility which a rigid structure cannot add.

The spring tension in the turnbuckle 70 is a self-regulating force. Over pressurizing by the fan truck will lift the canopy 44 thereby decreasing the wall pressure on the ground and allowing the excess of air pressure to escape; likewise, a sudden upsurge of air caused by the wind will cause the canopy 44 to lift allowing air to escape under the sealing tube walls 66, thus causing a partial deflation of the canopy 44.

The canopy 44 may be made of polyester textile coated with butyl rubber. This material has extremely good low temperature flexing properties requisite to stand up to repeated folding and inflation without developing cracks.

I claim:

1. An extendible and retractable protective canopy for an outdoor area, said canopy having opposed inflatable tubular side walls adapted to rest on a portion of said area; a plurality of inflatable tubular members in said canopy and connected to said tubular side walls for inflation; means for storing said canopy in its retracted state at one end of said area; track means on each side of said area outward of each of said tubular side walls; spring means slidably secured in each said track means and secured to said canopy adjacent one of said tubular side walls respectively; means for extending said canopy over said area comprising driveable means Within said means for storing said canopy to drive said inflatable tubular side walls away therefrom and means for inflating those portions of said tubular side walls which extend beyond said means for storing said canopy so that said tubular side walls become rigid and tend to advance forward away from said means for storing said canopy so long as there remains uninflated portions of said tubular side walls within said means for storing said canopy; said canopy being retractable from said area by deflating said tubular side walls and inflatable tubular members connected thereto, and returning said canopy to said means for storing the same.

2. A protective canopy according to claim 1 wherein a trench is provided along both sides of said area, said means for acting on said spring means being located in said trench and said track means extending along each said trench, respectively.

3. A canopy according to claim 1 wherein said means for storing said canopy comprises a further trench at one end of said area, and said means for securing said canopy intermediate of said tubular side walls includes a pair of pinch rollers in said further trench, each said trench along a side of said area communicating with said further trench.

4. A canopy according to claim 3 wherein said further trench has a hingeable articulated cover, and one of said pinch rollers is secured to the underside of said cover and is disposed so as to engage with said other roller when said cover is lowered.

5. A canopy according to claim 1 further comprising vents in said plurality is of inflatable tubular members, said vents being adapted to direct air flow from the underside of said canopy on to said area when said canopy is inflated.

(References 0n following page) 6 References Cited 3,298,142 1/ 1967 Isaac 52--2 I ED E P T N S 3,338,001 s/1967 Fraser 52-2 UN T STAT S A E T 3,433,470 3/1969 Erice 52-2X 4/1929 Hoch 4-172 C 3/ 1961 Homan 52-2 5 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner 8/1962 Lamb 4-172 C s. D. BURKE 111, Assistant Examiner 6/1963 Heke 4-172 C s/1964 Goodrich 1 172.12 X U-S- Cl- XR 10/1964 Bonner etal 16o-s4 10 4-172.12,17214;160-84 

